System and method for trading multiple tradeable objects using a single trading interface

ABSTRACT

A system and method are provided for displaying information related to a plurality of tradeable objects using a single graphical interface. One example graphical interface includes at least two screen regions displayed in relation to each other, with each region including a plurality of locations. Each location in the first screen region corresponds to a value along a first value axis, and each location in the second screen region corresponds to a value along a second value axis. The graphical interface also includes a first indicator in the first region and a second indicator in the second region. In response to a repositioning command based on an algorithm, the graphical interface includes a repositioned first value axis and the second value axis, such that the indicators are displayed in new locations determined based on the algorithm.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to the electronic trading. Morespecifically, it relates to a system and method for enabling traders totrade multiple tradeable objects in an electronic trading environment.

BACKGROUND

An exchange is a central marketplace with established rules andregulations where buyers and sellers meet to trade. Some exchanges,referred to as open outcry exchanges, operate using a trading floorwhere buyers and sellers physically meet on the floor to trade. Otherexchanges, referred to as electronic exchanges, operate by an electronicor telecommunications network instead of a trading floor to facilitatetrading in an efficient, versatile, and functional manner. Electronicexchanges have made it possible for an increasing number of people toactively participate in a market at any given time. The increase in thenumber of potential market participants has advantageously led to, amongother things, a more competitive market and greater liquidity.

With respect to electronic exchanges, buyers and sellers may connect toan electronic exchange trading platform by way of a communication linkthrough their user terminals. Once connected, buyers and sellers maytypically choose which tradeable objects they wish to trade. As usedherein, the term “tradeable object” refers to anything that can betraded with a quantity and/or price. It includes, but is not limited to,all types of traded events, goods and/or financial products, which caninclude, for example, stocks, options, bonds, futures, currency, andwarrants, as well as funds, derivatives and collections of theforegoing, and all types of commodities, such as grains, energy, andmetals. The tradeable object may be “real,” such as products that arelisted by an exchange for trading, or “synthetic,” such as a combinationof real products that is created by the user. A tradeable object couldactually be a combination of other tradeable objects, such as a class oftradeable objects.

Client entities, such as computers being used by traders to trade, aretypically connected to an electronic exchange by way of a communicationlink to facilitate electronic messaging between the trading entities andthe exchange. The messaging may include market information that isdistributed from the electronic exchange to traders, as well as orders,quotes, acknowledgements, fills, cancels, deletes, cancel and replace,and other well-known financial transaction messages. Although the amountor type of market information published by an electronic exchange oftendiffers, there are typically some standard pieces of information. Forinstance, market information usually includes the inside market, whichgenerally includes the current lowest sell price (often referred to asthe best ask) and the current highest buy price (often referred to asthe best bid). Market information may also include market depth, whichgenerally refers to quantities available in the market at the pricelevels other than those corresponding to the inside market. In additionto providing order book information including price and quantityinformation, electronic exchanges can offer other types of market datasuch as the open price, settlement price, net change, volume, lasttraded price, last traded quantity, and order fill information.

Once a trader at the client entity receives the market information, itmay be displayed on the trading screen. Upon viewing the marketinformation, traders can take certain actions including the actions ofsending buy or sell orders to the electronic market, adjusting existingorders, deleting orders, or otherwise managing orders. Traders may alsouse software tools to automate these and additional actions.

To profit in today's rapidly moving markets, traders must be able toreact quickly and assimilate enormous amounts of data. For example, atrader may constantly have to review market data, world news, businessnews, and so on before making trades. Consequently, a skilled traderwith the quickest software, the fastest communications, and the mostsophisticated analysis can significantly improve the trader's own or thetrader's firm's potential profits. The slightest advantage in speed orability to assimilate or analyze the information can generatesignificant returns in the fast moving markets. Therefore, in today'sfast and dynamically changing markets, a trader lacking those means maybe at a disadvantage compared to other traders.

For certain trading strategies, traders may be interested in monitoringand participating in markets of two or more tradeable objects. Knowntrading applications have limited capabilities to address this interest.For example, market information for one tradeable object may bedisplayed in a trading interface in a first trading window andinformation related to a second tradeable object may be displayed in asecond trading window. A disadvantage of such trading applications isthat the trader who is interested in trading two or more tradeableobjects at the same time must use his valuable time to try to discernthe current relationship between the tradeable objects. Order entry isalso complicated by the multiple windows.

It would therefore be desirable to have an improved apparatus, method,and interface for enabling traders to trade multiple tradeable objects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments of the present invention are described herein withreference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example network configurationfor a communication system utilized to access one or more exchanges;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a client terminal with a numberof layers defining different stages that may be used to implement theexample embodiments described herein;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of agraphical interface that can be used for displaying market data relatedto a plurality of tradeable object and placing orders in relation to thedisplayed market data;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example order pane fordisplaying information related to a plurality of working orders;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a centered market grid of FIG. 3according to one example embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a repositioned market grid ofFIG. 3 according to another example embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

I. Overview

Trading tools are provided that allow a trader to view market data andtrade a plurality of tradeable objects using a single graphicalinterface. One example graphical interface includes at least two screenregions displayed in relation to each other. In one embodiment, thefirst screen region includes a first plurality of locations, and thesecond screen region includes a second plurality of locations. Eachlocation of the first plurality of locations corresponds to a valuealong a first value axis, and the first screen region is associated withat least a portion of the first value axis. Similarly, each location ofthe second plurality of locations corresponds to a value along a secondvalue axis, and the second screen region is associated with at least aportion of the second value axis.

The example graphical interface also includes a first indicatordisplayed in one of the plurality of locations in the first screenregion, and a second indictor displayed in one of the plurality oflocation in the second screen region. The first and second indicatorscan be associated with inside markets of the first and second tradeableobjects, respectively. For example, the indicators can represent thebest bid, the best ask, or the last traded price corresponding to thetradeable objects; however, the indicators could represent differentparameters as well.

According to one example embodiment, the graphical interface could beprogrammed to reposition the displayed data upon detecting a commandthat can be based on an algorithm. In response to a repositioningcommand, the graphical interface displays a repositioned first valueaxis such that the first indicator is displayed in a new first locationbased on the algorithm in the first screen region. Similarly, uponreceiving the repositioning command, the second value axis isrepositioned as well such that the second indicator is displayed in anew second location based on the algorithm in the second screen region.

The graphical user interface also provides means for order entry.According to one example embodiment, selection of a location in thefirst plurality of locations in the first screen region initiatesplacement of a trade order to buy or sell the first tradeable object.Similarly, selection of a location in the second plurality of locationsin the second screen region initiates placement of a trade order to buyor sell the second tradeable object. According to one exampleembodiment, the locations in the first and second screen regions couldbe selected using a user input device. Upon receiving the selections ofspecific locations in the first and second screen regions, the graphicaluser interface may display working order indicators in the selectedlocations of the first and second screen regions. The order parameters,at least in part, can be determined based on the selected location. Forexample, the selected location can be used to determine an order price,while an order quantity can be based on a default order quantity definedfor a tradeable object. According to one example embodiment, theindicators can be moved between the regions, and the movement of aworking order indicator, depending on the set-up, may initiatecancellation of the order in the first screen region and placement ofanother order in the second region. In such an embodiment, when theindicator movement is completed, a working order indicator may bedisplayed in the second screen region. Alternatively, even when theindicator is moved from the first screen region, the first order may beleft pending, while the second order is placed. In such an embodiment,two working order indicators, one in the first screen region and thesecond in the second screen region may be displayed. Also, when theworking order indicator is moved from the first screen region to thesecond screen region, an order quantity for the second order can bedetermined based on a predefined algorithm, such as an equation.

According to another example embodiment, selection of a location in asingle screen region may initiate placement of orders for not only atradeable object associated with the screen region, but also for othertradeable objects. Such order placement could be controlled by auser-defined algorithm that determines at least order prices and orderquantities for all orders to be placed in relation to a plurality oftradeable objects.

While the present invention is described herein with reference toillustrative embodiments for particular applications, it should beunderstood that the present invention is not limited thereto. Othersystems, methods, and advantages of the present embodiments will be orbecome apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of thefollowing drawings and description. It is intended that all suchadditional systems, methods, features, and advantages be within thescope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanyingclaims.

II. Hardware and Software Overview

As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the presentembodiments may be operated in an entirely software embodiment, in anentirely hardware embodiment, or in a combination thereof. However, forsake of illustration, the example embodiments are described in asoftware-based embodiment, which is executed on a computer device. Assuch, the example embodiments take the form of a computer programproduct that is stored on a computer readable storage medium and isexecuted by a suitable instruction system in the computer device. Anysuitable computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks,CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices, forexample.

In an electronic trading environment, when a trader selects a tradeableobject, the trader may access market data related to the selectedtradeable object(s). Referring to FIG. 1, an example communication thatmight occur between an electronic exchange and a client terminal inaccordance with the example embodiments is shown. During a tradingsession, market data, in the form of messages, may be relayed frommatching processes at exchanges 106A-106C over communication links108A-C and 110A-C to a client terminal generally indicated as 102. Itshould be understood that an exchange could have one or more matchingprocesses. As illustrated in FIG. 1, intermediate devices, such asgateway(s) 104A-C, may be used to facilitate communications between theclient terminal 102 and the host exchanges 106A-C. It should beunderstood that while FIG. 1 illustrates each host exchange 106A-106Ccommunicating with the client terminal 102 via a separate gateway, asingle gateway could be used to provide communication between the clientterminal 102 and multiple exchanges. Alternatively, multiple gatewayscould be assigned to each electronic exchange.

The market data provided by an exchange may contain information thatcharacterizes the tradeable object's order book including, among otherparameters, order related parameters, and the inside market, whichrepresents the lowest sell price (also referred to as the best or lowestask price) and the highest buy price (also referred to as the best orhighest bid price). In some electronic markets, market data may alsoinclude market depth, which generally refers to quantities available fortrading the tradeable object at certain buy price levels and quantitiesavailable for trading the tradeable object at certain sell price levels.

In addition to providing the tradeable object's order book information,electronic exchanges can offer different types of market informationsuch as a total traded quantity value for each price level, an openingprice, a last traded price, a last traded quantity value, a closingprice, or order fill information. It should be understood that marketinformation provided from an electronic exchange could include more orfewer items depending on the type of tradeable object or the type ofexchange. Also, it should be understood that the messages provided inthe market data may vary in size depending on the content carried bythem, and the software at the receiving end may be programmed tounderstand the messages and to act out certain operations.

A trader may view the information provided from an exchange via one ormore specialized trading screens created by software running on theclient terminal 102, the embodiments of which will be described inrelation to subsequent sections. Upon viewing the market information ora portion thereof, a trader may wish to take actions, such as sendorders to an exchange, cancel orders at the exchange, or change orderparameters, for example. To do so, the trader may input various commandsor signals into the client terminal 102. Upon receiving one or morecommands or signals from the trader, the client terminal 102 maygenerate messages that reflect the actions taken and send them to arespective exchange. It should be understood that different types ofmessages or order types can be submitted to the host exchanges 106A-C,all of which may be considered various types of transaction information.Once generated, user action messages may be sent from the clientterminal 102 to the host exchange(s) over communication links 110A-C and108A-C.

III. System Function and Operation

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a client terminal 200 with anumber of layers defining different stages that may be used to implementvarious example embodiments that will be described in greater detailbelow. The layers include a communication interface 202, a userprogrammable interface 204, a trading application 206, an equalizerapplication 208, a processor 210, and a memory unit 212.

The example client terminal 200 can include any type of computingdevice, such as a personal computer, laptop computer, hand-heldcomputer, or other devices that have network access. The communicationinterface 202 allows the client terminal 200 to interact with the traderand to generate contents and characteristics of a trade order to be sentto one or more of a plurality of electronic exchanges 214. In oneexample embodiment, the user programmable interface 204 allows a user toenter any configuration parameters to be used by the equalizerapplication 208 or the trading application 206. The user programmableinterface 204 may include any type of interface. For example, the userprogrammable interface 204 may be a command-driven interface, agraphical user interface that takes advantage of computer graphics, orthe combination thereof. The graphical user interface may include one ormore windows that can be moved around the display screen, and their sizeand shape can be changed as the user wishes. A window may in turninclude icons that represent commands, files, or more windows.Alternatively, rather than using a user programmable interface at theclient terminal, an intelligent communication interface could be usedinstead. In such an embodiment, a third party application could inputone or more variables into the trading application 206 and the equalizerapplication 208, and the applications could operate based on thosevariables. The types of variables and functions will be described ingreater detail below.

In one embodiment, the user programmable interface 204 can beimplemented in a software module or processor. The user programmableinterface 204 can be a routine, a data structure, or the combinationthereof, stored in the memory unit 212, and may perform the functions ofthe user programmable interface described herein.

As mentioned in an earlier paragraph, the user programmable interface204 may take a format of different windows, which may be displayed viathe display devices 212 of the client terminal 200, such as a screen ofthe client terminal 200. The windows can include as many functionalicons as the user requests, and each icon may include an image displayedon the screen to represent an element that can be manipulated by theuser.

Information being provided by the trading application 206 may bedisplayed to a trader via display devices 216, and may allow a trader toview market data, enter, cancel, change, and view trade orders.Preferably, the trading application 206 has access to market informationfrom the host exchanges 214, and allows a trader to view market data,enter, change, and cancel orders, and view order related information. Acommercially available trading application that allows a user to tradein a system like that shown in FIG. 1 is X_TRADER® from TradingTechnologies International, Inc. of Chicago, Ill. X_TRADER® alsoprovides an electronic trading interface, referred to as MD Trader™, inwhich working orders and bid/ask quantities are displayed in associationwith a static price axis or scale. As mentioned above, the scope of theexample embodiments is not limited by the type of terminal or deviceused.

Portions of X_TRADER® and the MD Trader™-style display are described inU.S. Pat. No. 6,772,132, entitled “Click Based Trading With IntuitiveGrid Display of Market Depth,” filed on Jun. 9, 2000, U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/971,087, entitled “Click Based Trading WithIntuitive Grid Display of Market Depth and Price Consolidation,” filedon Oct. 5, 2001, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/125,894,entitled “Trading Tools for Electronic Trading,” filed on Apr. 19, 2002,the contents of each are incorporated herein by reference.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the trading application 206 andthe equalizer application 208 are shown as two separate softwareapplications. However, it should be understood that the functionality ofboth applications could be combined into a single software applicationas well. In one example embodiment, the equalizer application 208 allowsa trader to view market data and enter orders for multiple tradeableobjects in one window of a graphical user interface.

According to one example embodiment, the tradeable objects that a traderselects for display via the graphical user interface can be related toeach other so that the trader's ability to view the grouped marketinformation corresponding to such tradeable objects can be potentiallybeneficial. For example, the trader could view a relative movement ofthe market in relation to each tradeable object, and make tradingdecision based on the movements. The example embodiments of graphicalinterfaces described below will use examples related to trading shortterm interest rate products (“STIRs”), or STIR futures. STIRs arederivative products that derive from the underlying cash markets. STIRfutures are agreements to buy or sell short-term interest rates at anagreed price for cash settlement on a future date. For example, the STIRfutures currently traded on the CME exchange are Eurodollar future basedon the 3-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) on U.S. dollardeposits, Euroyen future based on the 3-month Tokyo Interbank OfferedRate (“TIBOR”) on Japanese yen deposits, and many others.

Typically, the STIR futures contracts trade for quarterly contractmonths of March, June, September, and December. However, some STIRfutures could be traded for different calendar months as well. Sinceunderlying products of STIRs are interest rates, buying a STIR futurecan be thought of as lending at the corresponding interest rate.Similarly, selling a STIR future is comparable to borrowing at thatequivalent interest rate. However, it should be understood that theexample embodiments are not limited to any specific tradeable object.

Many exchanges, in addition to allowing a trader to submit orders inindividual contract months, commonly referred to as “outrights,” alsoenable traders to submit orders for a trading strategy. For example, atrading strategy may encompass a number of outright months correspondingto the tradable object, and an exchange could provide market datacorresponding to the trading strategy for display to a trader via agraphical user interface at a client terminal.

Common trading strategies that are available for trading STIRs and STIRfutures often include strips, packs, and bundles. A strip trade is atrade where consecutively quarterly traded months of the same tradeableobjects, typically future products, such as for example, Eurodollar STIRfutures, are bought or sold simultaneously. When a trader uses a strip,the trader may attempt to lock up a yield for a time period equal to thelength of the strip. For example, if a strip is created for fourconsecutive months of Eurodollar STIR futures, the strip would lock-up aone year rate. However, it should be understood that a strip couldinclude non-consecutive months as well, such as March05, March06,March07, and March08. Also, a strip is not limited to having fourtradeable objects, and more or fewer tradeable objects could be includedin a strip as well. If a strip is created for eight successive months ofEurodollar STIR futures, it will lock up a two year rate. Buying a stripconstitutes buying all months in the strip. Traders often use packs asan alternative method for executing a strip trade.

A pack is buying or selling four consecutive quarterly months within adesignated color code that corresponds to their position on the yieldcurve. Packs are often considered spread trades, because any priceconsistent with the agreed upon average net change for the pack may beassigned to the individual trades. While the average net change is oftenused for a pack price, the prices corresponding to all tradeable objectsin the pack could be summed up to determine a pack price. The number ofpacks that is provided to a trader may be exchange-based; however,commonly provided packs include white, red, green, blue, and gold packs,corresponding to Eurodollar futures years 1-5, respectively. Forexample, the first month of the white pack is the first quarterly month,and the first month of the red pack is the fifth quarterly month.Finally, a bundle is sale or purchase consisting of a strip of two ormore complete years of delivery. For example, a two-year bundle mayconsist of the first eight Eurodollar STIR futures. Similarly to a packprice, a bundle price could correspond to either an average pricedetermined based on prices of tradeable objects in the bundle, or a sumof prices corresponding to the tradeable object. It should be understoodthat the pack price or the bundle price could be determined usingdifferent methods as well.

As mentioned in earlier paragraphs, while the example graphicalinterfaces will be described in relation to STIR products, the exampleembodiments are not limited to any specific tradeable objects and couldbe equally applicable in relation to different tradeable objects aswell.

IV. Graphical User Interface

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of agraphical interface that can be used for displaying market data relatedto a plurality of tradeable object and placing orders in relation to thedisplayed tradeable object. The graphical interface includes an orderparameter setting area 300, a market depth/order entry area 302, alsoreferred hereinafter as a market grid, and an order related data area304.

The order parameter setting area 300 includes a number of fields andicons that can be selected by a trader to define order relatedparameters. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the order parameter setting area300 include a number of icons that can be used by a trader to defineorder parameters, order types, as well as other parameters that will bedescribed in greater detail below.

The order parameter setting area 300 includes a default quantity field306 that can be used to define a default order quantity to be used inrelation to any order entered via the market grid 302. It should beunderstood that more than one default quantity field could be providedas well, and the quantity value that will be applied to a newly enteredorder may depend on how an order is entered via the market grid 302. Forexample, and as will be described in greater detail below, a tradercould enter an order by clicking on one of the market grid cellscorresponding to a price of a tradeable object that the trader wants totrade. If a user selects a market grid cell using a mouse, two differentdefault quantity values could be defined so that a right click wouldcorrespond to one default quantity, and a left click would correspond toa second default quantity. Different embodiments, depending on the inputdevice, could be used as well. It should be understood that a tradercould pre-configure a maximum quantity that could be used as a controlmechanism to limit a trader's attempt to submit any higher orderquantity.

In addition to setting default quantities, a trader could select a sweepquantity selection box 308 to apply a sweep quantity to any enteredorder. When the sweep quantity box 308 is checked, an order will beplaced for the market quantity from the price/quantity clicked. Forexample, if the sweep quantity box 308 is checked, and a trader places abuy order at the best ask price, the order quantity will be set to thequantity available at the current best ask price. Similarly, if a buyorder is placed at a price one tick away from the best ask price, thenthe order quantity will be set to the sum of the quantity available atthe selected price and the quantity available at the best ask price.

The quantity pad 310 can be used by a trader to define a quantity valuesfor an order. The quantity pad 310 provides six quantity values,including a quantity of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. Rather than using acurrent default quantity 306, a trader can use the quantity pad 310 tochange the quantity value that will be used in relation to the nextorder. It should be understood that the quantities displayed in thequantity pad are only examples, and a trader could change the values ofthese quantities to some other values. To do that, for example, thetrader could right-click on a number and then enter a desired number.Also, a trader can select different modes that can be used to controlthe operation of the quantity pad. One such option, an “Add” mode, isshown in relation to an icon 312. When the “Add” mode is selected, thequantities selected by a trader on the quantity pad will be added andused as an order quantity. For example, if a trader selects quantities“1,” “5,” and “10,” and the “Add” mode is selected, the selected valueswill be added to the total quantity of 16. It should be understood thatdifferent modes could be provided as well, such as a “Calculator” mode,or a “Replace” mode. If the “Calculator” mode is selected, the quantitypad will be treated as a calculator, so that when “1,” “5,” and “10” areselected, the quantity value will be set to 1510. Then, if the “Replace”mode is selected, the existing quantity will be replaced with thequantity corresponding to the newly selected button. For example, if“1,” “5,” and “10” are selected, the quantity value would be set to 10.It should be understood that a trader could set up quantity limits sothat no matter what value is selected via the quantity pad, the orderquantity will not be higher than the predefined maximum quantity value.

Referring back to the quantity pad 310, by selecting a “Clear” selectionicon, the default quantity will be reset to 0. The default quantity inthe icon 306 can be changed by setting a quantity via the quantity padand then selecting a Default icon. A trader can also select an ordertype to be used in relation to any orders that are entered via themarket grid 302. As shown at 312, a few example order type icons includea limit order “Limit” icon, a stop limit (“SL”) icon, a stop market(“SM”) icon, and a one cancels other (“OCO”). According to one exampleembodiment, a trader may assign different colors to each order type. Insuch an embodiment, when a trader selects different order types, acursor being used in relation to the market grid 302 can change color toindicate which order type is currently activated. While only four ordertypes are shown in FIG. 3, it should be understood that different ordertypes could be used as well. When a trader selects the Limit icon,additional icons could be enabled to allow a trader to specifyadditional parameters to be used in relation to the limit orders. Forexample, two such parameters may include a time in force parameter thatcan be selected using an icon 318, and an order subtype that can beselected in relation to an icon 320.

The time in force parameter 318 can be used to allow a trader todesignate a time period during which any limit order entered via themarket grid 302 will be valid. As shown in relation to the icon 318, adefault selection could be a good till day (“GTD”) parameter, which setsthe order life to the current trading session. Another example selectionoption could be good till cancel (“GTC”), which sets the order lifeuntil a trader cancels the order or until the tradeable object for whichthe order was submitted expires or gets filled. The order subtype icon320 may allow a trader to designate if an order should be of a fill orkill (“FOK”) type, or immediate or cancel (“IOC”). The FOK orderrequires that the full order quantity be filled completely andimmediately. If it is not possible, the order is simply cancelled. Withrespect to the IOC order, the order requires that all or at least aportion of the quantity be filled immediately. If there is any remainingunfilled quantity, that quantity is simply cancelled. By default, theorder subtype can be set to “None,” as shown in FIG. 3, to indicate thatneither “FOK” nor “IOC” will be used.

Referring back to the order type selection icons 312, if a traderselects the SL icon, any order submitted via the market grid 302 will bea stop limit order. When the SL is selected, a trailing stop(“Trailing”) and a stop limit offset (“SLO”) fields 316, as well as thetime in force icon 318 can be enabled. The trailing stop field 316allows a trader to designate that the stop order should trail with themarket. According to one example embodiment, a trailing offset may beautomatically set based on the number of ticks the stop order is placedaway from the last traded price. In such an embodiment, if the stoporder is moved, the trailing offset may be updated based on the newposition of the stop order in relation to the last traded price. Forexample, if the last traded price moves down by 1 tick, a buy stop maythen be moved down by 1 tick. It should be understood that a referencepoint, different than the last traded price, could be used as well. TheSLO field can be used to define the number of ticks between the stoplimit price and the stop entry price.

When the SM icon is selected, a trader may submit stop market orders.When the SM icon is selected, the trailing stop field 316 and the timeforce 318 can be activated as well. Finally, when the OCO icon isselected, a trader can submit two orders, and, when one of them getsfilled, the other order will be cancelled. When the OCO icon isselected, the OCO SL, trailing stop, and SLO fields 316 will beactivated as well. A trader can use the OCO SL to designate if the ordershould be an OCO stop limit or an OCO stop market order. If the checkboxdisplayed in relation to the OCO SL is not checked, an OCO stop marketwill be placed. An OCO order type can include either two stop orders,two limit orders, or a stop order and a limit order, and the OCO couldbe placed across two tradeable objects or a single tradeable object.According to one example, when a trader places individual orders for theOCO, a cursor may change its color so that a trader does not forget toplace a second order for the OCO. For example, when a trader selects afirst price level for the first order of the OCO, a cursor may changecolor to any user-defined color. Then, after a price is selected for thesecond order, the cursor may change to its original color, thus,providing to a trader a visual indication that the OCO was placed. Itshould be understood that when a trader places a first order for an OCO,the trader may break a link between the first order and any subsequentlyplaced order by selecting a predetermined user selection input, such asan Esc button, for example.

In addition to order setting parameters, a trader could use one of thetabs 322 to automatically populate the market depth/order entry area 304with a predetermined set of tradeable objects. The example groupings maybe based on outright tradeable objects, adjacent spreads, packs andbundles (“Pcks, Bndl”), or yet some other miscellaneous, user-definedgrouping.

The market depth/order entry grid 302 allows a trader to view and enterorders for multiple tradeable objects. While the market depth grid 302displays market depth for each tradeable object horizontally, it shouldbe understood that an alternative embodiment may include a verticaldisplay, or yet a display with market depth being displayed at someangle. According to one example embodiment, the market depth for eachtradeable object is displayed using a plurality of cells, with each celldefining a price and a quantity available at that price. For example,each cell may be associated with a predetermined statically assignedprice so that the position of each cell does not change when, forexample, the inside market changes. According to one example embodiment,when the market grid window is initially activated, an inside marketcorresponding to each tradeable object selected for display via themarket grid 302 is preferably displayed in relation to one of the showncells. Different methods for controlling how the market depthcorresponding to each of the plurality of tradeable object is displayedin the market depth grid 302 will be described in greater detail below.

A trader could slide the viewable prices of all tradeable objects to theright or left using arrows 336 and 338. It should be understood that atrader could select which rows of prices to slide using the arrows.According to one example embodiment, a trader could slide the pricescorresponding to all market depths displayed via the market grid 302 byselecting the arrows 336 and 338. Alternatively, a trader could selectone or more market depths that the trader wishes to be moved upon usinga shift key and the arrows 336 and 338.

Also, while the plurality of price axis shown in FIG. 3 are displayedsuch that prices corresponding to each tradeable object increase fromleft to right, it should be understood that a trader may wish to haveone or more price axes inverted so that while prices for some tradeableobjects increase from left to right, prices for other tradeable objectscould increase from right to left.

The market grid 302 includes a column that defines a name of a tradeableobject and/or the expiration date corresponding to that the tradeableobject. In FIG. 3, the tradeable object is an example financial productfuture “GE” with four outright months being traded during a year. Theoutright months correspond to March, June, September, and December ofthe four consecutive years 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. According to oneexample embodiment, a trader can select a cell corresponding to the nameof a tradeable object to activate a menu interface for that tradeableobject. The menu interface can then enable a trader to activate a depthwindow, a formatting window, or a set up window, which could also beactivated by selecting a setting control icon 324 described in greaterdetail below. The depth window, such as the MD Trader™ type market depthdisplay referenced above, may allow a trader to view and place ordersfor a tradeable object. The formatting window can allow a trader to setup formatting and display related options, such as a background colorfor the selected tradeable object.

As mentioned earlier, the tradeable object column also includes thesetting control icon, such as an icon 324, in relation to each name ofthe tradeable object. The setting control icon 324 can be used toactivate a set-up window that can be used by a trader to define specificsettings in relation to the respective tradeable object. When thesetting control icon 324 is selected, another interface could beactivated to enable a trader to define one or more parameters, such asone or more default order quantities, information displayed in each cellof the interface 300, such as the format of price levels to be displayedin each cell. For example, rather than displaying price levels,derivative of the price could be displayed as well. With respect todefault quantities, a trader could define a right-click quantity or aleft-click default quantity, an account, or a customer identifier to beused in relation to the tradeable object corresponding to the icon. Itshould be understood that default quantities can include a specificvalue or could be based on an Excel value being computed based on aformula. Also, the formula could be based on many different parameters,including a net position corresponding to a tradeable object, a trader'soverall net position, a last fill for a tradeable object, a best bid/askquantity, or yet some other parameters. If any specific settings areused for the tradeable object, such setting will override any defaultglobal settings. If a trader does not define any specific settings,global settings may be used in relation to a tradeable object. It shouldbe understood that a single set-up window could be used to definesettings for a plurality of tradeable objects. Alternatively, a singleset up window could be activated to define specific setting for eachtradeable object.

The market grid 302 displays market depth corresponding to eachtradeable object listed in the tradeable object name column. FIG. 3displays seven market depth levels in relation to each tradeable object;however, any number of the market depth levels could be displayed basedon the user preferences. The market depth levels are displayed in cellsincluding a price displayed on top of each cell and an availablequantity displayed at the bottom of the cell. If there is no quantitycorresponding to a price level in one of the cells, the quantity may beleft blank, or zero could be displayed as well.

As mentioned earlier, according to one example embodiment, the pricesdisplayed in relation to each cell are static so that, for example, whenan inside market changes, the prices displayed in relation to each cellstay the same, and only indicators corresponding to the inside marketmay move to different cells. In the market grid 302, the inside marketmay be indicated by color-coding the cells corresponding to theprices/quantities of the inside market. Such two cells are shown inrelation to the first tradeable object at 326 and 328, with the cell 326corresponding to the best bid, and the cell 328 corresponding to thebest ask. For example, a cell corresponding to the best bid could becolor-coded blue, and a cell corresponding to the best ask could becolor-coded red. Also, the cells corresponding to the best ask/bid coulduse a slightly larger font so that they could be easily distinguishedfrom other cells. In one embodiment, if the best bid and/or best askprices are at a lower/higher price than is currently visible for atradeable object on the market grid 302, the last visible cell on theleft/right side can be color-coded using any user-preferred color.Rather than color-coding the cells of interest, it should be understoodthat different methods could be used to inform a trader of relevantinformation. For example, graphical indicators could be used in relationto the cells.

Each cell displayed via the market grid includes quantities availablefor a tradeable object at a price level corresponding to each cell.According to one example embodiment, the quantities displayed in eachcell can correspond to exchange-provided quantities. Alternatively,implied quantities could be displayed in addition to or instead of theexchange-provide quantities. For example, implied quantities could becombined with exchange-provided quantities. Alternatively, the impliedquantities could be displayed in relation to the exchange-providedvalues.

It should be understood that additional indicators could be used inrelation to the market grid cells to represent information other thanthat described above, and what is shown in the market grid 302 can beuser configurable. For example, a trader may wish to view the high andlow prices detected during a trading day in relation to a tradeableobject. The highest and lowest prices can be shown using an indicatordisplayed in relation to a cell corresponding to that price. Theindicator could be a color-coded line or any other user configuredindicator.

The market grid 302 also includes a quantity status indicator 330 columnthat can provide an indication of whether the bid and ask quantities aregoing up or down. The quantity status could be represented using arrows,and the arrows could be color-coded to indicate a specific quantitybehavior. It should be understood that the quantity status could bebased on a specified number of market depth levels and could be updatedat predefined time intervals. Also, different methods could be used tocompare the quantities for the quantity status. According to one exampleembodiment, the trend indicators could be based on the current marketdata rather than last traded data, and could be generated, for example,by comparing bid quantities vs. ask quantities, determining, based on anumber of price levels, if a bid quantity is higher than an askquantity, or vice versa, and which accumulated quantity is higher.However, in another example embodiment, the combination of currentmarket data and last traded data could be used to generate trendindicators. For example, a green arrow pointing up could be used torepresent an upward movement of bid quantities and a downward movementof ask quantities. A red arrow pointing down could be used to representa decline in bid quantities and an increase in ask quantities. Then, forexample, if both bid and ask quantities are going down or up, a blackarrow pointing down or up, respectively, could be used to show thequantity status.

The market grid 302 also displays a working order column 332 that can beused to show if there are any working orders corresponding to each ofthe plurality of tradeable objects. The working order column 332 maydisplay a color-coded indicator at the level of each tradeable object.The indicator could be red if all working orders correspond to sells, orblue if all working orders correspond to buys. If working orders includebuys and sells, the indicator could be black. It should be understoodthat different colors, or different indicator types could be used basedon the user preferences.

Working order indicators could also be shown in relation to each workingorder price. According to one example embodiment, such indicators couldbe displayed in a cell corresponding to a price at which a working orderis pending, such as an indicator 334 displayed in relation to a pricelevel of 9851.0. The indicators could be color-coded. Based on thepreviously introduced color scheme, a red indicator could be used toindicate a working sell order, a blue indicator could be used toindicate a working buy order, and a black indicator could be used toindicate that a combination of a buy working order and a sell workingorder is pending at the corresponding price level. Then, if a workingorder corresponds to the best bid or ask price, a working orderindicator could be white to stand out from the cell's background. Ifthere are working buy and sell orders on either best bid price or bestask price, the indicator could be gray. Different colors or indicatortypes could be used as well.

In addition to order types described above, a trader could use themarket grid 302 to enter a plurality of linked orders via a singleselection of a price for a first order. A few example order types thatmay allow a trader to place linked orders are stairs, pyramids, ladders,dittos, and funnels. When one of such order types is activated, a tradercould define how many orders should be placed in relation to each ordertype, and also a tick value between prices of two consecutive orders.Each order type can also be associated with quantity allocation rulesthat can be used to determine a quantity for each of the plurality oforders based on a quantity value specified for the first order. Forexample, the quantity allocation rules could take a format of amultiplier defined for each of the plurality of orders. To illustratethe process of submitting a stair order type, let's assume that fourorders were defined in relation to the stair order type, the quantityallocation rules define a plurality of multipliers 1, 2, 3, and 4, andno tick gaps were defined in relation to the plurality orders. Applyingthis example in relation to the market depth of GE Mar05 in the marketdepth grid 302, if a quantity of 10 is a default quantity, and a traderselects the best bid price to place a buy order, a first buy order for aquantity of 10 will be submitted at a price of 9852.0. Then, based onthe rules above, three other orders having order quantities of 20, 30,and 40, will be automatically placed at prices 9851.5, 9851.0, and9850.5, respectively. It should be understood that the quantityallocation rules and price gaps could be user configurable. As anexample, assuming that four orders will be placed in relation to eachorder type, a pyramid quantity allocation rules could be set to 1, 2, 4,and 8, a ladder quantity allocation rules could be set to 1, 1, 1, and1, and a funnel quantity allocation rules could be set to 4, 3, 2,and 1. If an exchange imposes a maximum order quantity, and a traderdesires to place a larger quantity order, a trader could submit a dittoorder that effectively breaks the trader's order quantity into a numberof orders, and the sum of the orders' quantities is the desired orderquantity.

When one of such order types is placed via the market grid 302, they canbe distinguished from other working orders with a color or yet someother indicator denoting that the orders are linked. A trader can thendrag-and-drop a linked order group to a different price level. In suchan embodiment, rather then canceling all orders and placing a new set oflinked orders, some order quantities can be deleted, or additionalorders could be submitted to increase a quantity value at one or moreprice levels. As an example, let's assume that the following workingorders form a pyramid order: 10@114.97, 20@114.96, 40@114.95, 80@114.94,and 160@114.93. Let's now assume that a trader wishes to move thepyramid order one tick up. Rather than deleting all orders andsubmitting a new set of orders, the following actions could be performedto process the request: Add 10@114.98, Add 10@114.97, Add 20@114.96, Add40@114.95, Add 80@114.94, and Delete 160@114.93. Now, assuming that atrader wishes to drop the linked orders by two ticks, the followingactions could be performed to process the request: Delete 10@114.98,Delete both 10@114.97, Delete last 20@114.96, Change original 20@114.96to 10@114.96, Delete last 40@114.95, Change original 40@114.95 to20@114.95, Delete last 80@114.94, Change original 80@114.94 to40@114.94, Add 80@114.93, and Add 160@114.92. It should be understoodthat while the examples given above were given in relation to a singletradeable object, the linked orders could be placed across a pluralityof tradeable objects as well and could be moved to a different pluralityof tradeable objects.

Referring now to the order related data area 304, a trader can view moredetailed data corresponding to working orders, trader's data, and marketdata. The order related data area 304 includes a working order quantity(“Orders”) column, a net position (“NP”) column, a last traded price(“LTP”) column, and a last traded quantity (“LTQ”) column. The “Orders”column displays a quantity corresponding to working orders correspondingto a tradeable object. The displayed quantity value could be color-codedto reflect if the quantity corresponds to a buy quantity or a sellquantity. If there are buy and sell quantities pending at a price, thequantities can be displayed in a format “B×S,” with “B” corresponding toa quantity of pending buy working orders, and “S” corresponding to aquantity of pending sell working orders. The top row of the “Orders”column displays a total quantity corresponding to all working orders. Inthe example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the total quantity is“260×422,” which corresponds to the working bid quantity of 260 and theworking ask quantity of 422.

The net position column displays net position being held by a trader inrelation to each tradeable object. The last traded price columnindicates the last traded price of the tradeable object, and the lasttraded quantity displays the last traded quantity. It should beunderstood that different or additional information could be displayedin the order related data area 304, and the displayed parameters areonly examples.

In addition to providing market information, the market grid 302 couldalso be used for order entry. It should be understood that differentmethods could be used for order entry, and the example embodiments arenot limited to the order activation actions that will be describedbelow. According to one example embodiment, if a trader uses a mouse asan input device, different default quantities could be assigned to theright-click input and the left-click input. Also, the position of themouse within a market grid cell may be used to determine if an orderbeing placed is a buy order or a sell order. According to one exampleembodiment, when a trader positions a mouse over a market grid cell, twosub-cells can be activated: the first sub-cell including a price, andthe second one including a quantity available at that price. Also, thecurrently selected sub-cell could be highlighted. In such an embodiment,a buy order or a sell order can be placed for a tradeable object basedon whether a trader selects a quantity sub-cell or a price sub-cell. Forexample, selecting a price sub-cell can activate a sell order, andselecting a quantity sub-cell can activate a buy order.

Based on the order configuration described above, left-clicking on aprice sub-cell may trigger a sell order having an order quantitypredefined for the left-click, and right-clicking on the price sub-cellmay trigger a sell order having an order quantity associated with theright-click. Then, when a trader selects a quantity sub-cell, a buyorder can be triggered, and the order quantity may depend on whether thetrader selected the quantity sub-cell using a right-click or aleft-click. It should be understood that right- and left-clickquantities could be the same or different than a global quantity or atradeable object specific default quantity. If the “Sweep Qty” icon 308is selected when the orders are placed, the quantity may be sweptstarting from the quantity corresponding to the selected cell.

While a trader can view all working orders corresponding to the pricelevels displayed via the market depth grid 302, the trader may wish toview additional details corresponding to the working order indicators,or yet see if there are any other working orders pending at the pricelevels that are not currently visible via the market depth grid 302.According to one example embodiment, a trader can view such details viaan order pane window. An example order pane window 400 is shown in FIG.4. The order pane window including information on working orderscorresponding to a tradeable object could be automatically activated bypositioning a user input device, such as a mouse, for a predeterminedperiod of time, in relation to one of the market depth cellscorresponding to a tradeable object. Alternatively, a user couldright-click or left-click in the “Orders” column in the region 304. Forexample, when the order pane is activated using the cell correspondingto the total working order quantity, here the cell with “260×422,” theorder pane can display information corresponding to working orders of aplurality of tradeable objects associated with the working orders.Different activation methods could also be used. The order pane window400 could include working order information corresponding to theselected tradeable object or a plurality of tradeable objects. If two ormore working orders are linked, such as, if they are part of an OCO, atleast a portion of a row corresponding to each order could behighlighted. Alternatively, different identifiers could be used to showthe relationship between the orders.

The order pane 400 includes a plurality of fields: a delete “Del” field402, a “Tradeable Object” field 404, a quantity (“Qty”) field 406, a“Price” field 408, “Stop Price” field 410, a trailing offset (“TO”)field 412, an account number (“Acct”) field 414, a “Type” field 416, a“Time Stamp” field 418, and a Change (“Chg”) field 420.

A trader can use the order pane window 400 to change order parameterscorresponding to the displayed working orders. To change the orderquantity and/or price, a trader could either type a desired value in theprice or quantity column 408 and 406, or right/left click on thedisplayed values to increase/decrease the values by a certain value. The“Stop Price” column 410 and the “TO” column 412 can be displayed if oneof the working orders is a stop order. The stop price and the trailingoffset could be modified by right/left clicking on the value toincrease/decrease the price and offset, respectively. When any change ismade, an “OK” icon can appear in the “Chg” field 420, and a trader couldselect the “OK” icon to accept the changes.

The “Type” column 418 indicates an order type corresponding to eachworking order. Based on the system configuration, the “Time Stamp” 418may indicate when an order was sent to or received at an exchange. The“Acct#” column 414 indicates which trader's account is used to trade therespective tradeable object.

Referring back to FIG. 3, a trader could also modify order parametersusing the market depth grid 302. For example, a trader can move theworking order indicators within the corresponding market depth. In suchan embodiment, when a trader moves a working order indicator from afirst cell corresponding to a first price level of a tradeable object toa second cell corresponding to a second price level of the tradeableobject, the working order at the first price level can be canceled, anda message to place another order at the second price could be send to anelectronic exchange. According to one example embodiment, a right clickon a working order indicator, and then dragging and dropping thatindicator to another location within the market grid may initiate theprocess of canceling the existing working order and placing anotherorder at the selected price. In addition to changing the price of theorder within a market depth of the same tradeable object, the samefunctionality can be applied across a plurality of tradeable objectsbeing shown via the market depth grid 302. In such an embodiment, ratherthan moving a working order indicator within an area corresponding tomarket depth of a single tradeable object, a trader could move anindicator to one of the cells corresponding to market depth of adifferent tradeable object. It should be understood that the quantitycorresponding to the moved working order could stay the same or couldchange based on user settings. Also, a trader could delete an order bymoving a working order icon out of the market depth grid 302.

Rather than deleting each working order individually, a trader coulddelete all working orders corresponding to a tradeable object via asingle action of a user input device. The single action can include auser left-clicking a cell in the “Orders” column of the order relateddata area 304, with the selected cell corresponding to a tradeableobject for which a trader wishes to delete all working orders. Usingsuch a method, a trader could delete working orders corresponding to alltradeable objects by selecting a cell that displays a sum of all workingorder quantities.

It should be understood that the indicators described in relation to theinterface of FIG. 3 are only examples, and additional or different datacould be provided as well. For example, the interface could includeadditional selection icons, such as delete all orders at the insidemarket prices, or yet some other selection icons. Also, it should beunderstood that a trader could resize the cells or the entire interfacebased on his preferences. Also, a trader could hide some columns, suchas the columns in the order related data area 304.

According to an example embodiment, market depth(s) displayed in themarket grid 302 can be repositioned upon detecting a preset user actionor detecting selection of one or more icons. It should be understoodthat a trader could designate any item of interest as the basis forrepositioning the market depth, such that, upon repositioning, the itemof interest in the market depth will be moved to a predeterminedlocation within a display area of the market depth. The item of interestcould be user configurable and can include a value corresponding to apredetermined parameter or a formula. For example, the item of interestcould be the inside market, the last traded price, or a theoreticalvalue computed based on a user-defined formula. Also, for example, if aplurality of tradeable objects includes a plurality of financialproducts, such as STIRs, the item of interest could take a format of ayield curve or yet some other curve determined based on a function or aformula that is used to predict theoretical movements of the marketscorresponding to a group of tradeable objects.

According to an example embodiment, a trader may designate any item ofinterest to be the basis for the positioning function, such that, uponrepositioning, the item of interest(s) corresponding to one or moremarket depth(s) displayed via the market depth grid 302 may be moved toa predetermined location on the display. The process of repositioningcan include re-centering. However, it should be understood that thepredetermined location could be any location within an areacorresponding to each market depth.

Also, rather than activating the process of repositioning upon detectinga user input, the process could be activated automatically. For example,automatic repositioning could be triggered either by a timer, or bymonitoring movement of any item of interest about the display. Forexample, in relation to the market depth grid 302, a trader could selectone or more inside market(s) to be the items of interest. Then, forexample, if the items of interests are outside of the viewable area, themarket depth corresponding to a tradeable object associated with theitem of interest can be repositioned based on the predefined settings.However, it should be understood that more than one market depthcorresponding to multiple tradeable objects could be repositioned basedon a single item of interest, such as an inside market corresponding toone tradeable object.

As mentioned earlier, the process of repositioning can be appliedglobally to all market depths displayed in relation to the market depthgrid, or a trader could link or group the market depths. According toone example embodiment, a dialog box or a menu item could be used toenable the user to group or link market depths corresponding to multipletradeable objects for the purpose of repositioning. For example, atrader could designate one tradeable object as a master, and marketdepth corresponding to other tradeable objects linked to the mastercould be repositioned whenever the master market depth is repositioned.It should be understood that a trader could have one or more marketdepths displayed via the market depth grid 302 ignore there-positioning.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a market depth grid 500corresponding to a repositioned market depth grid of FIG. 3. In FIG. 5,a designated item of interest for each market depth is set to an insidemarket, and the market depths are re-centered on the inside market cellscorresponding to each tradeable object.

As mentioned earlier, theoretical functions could be used to define atheoretical relationship between two or more related tradeable objects.The theoretical relationship could take the format of a graph, such as acurve or a line that could be displayed in relation to the market depthsof a plurality of tradeable objects. According to one exampleembodiment, the items of interest corresponding to a plurality oftradeable objects, such as inside markets, could then be re-centeredaround a graph defining the theoretical relationship between thetradeable objects. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a market depthgrid 600 corresponding to a repositioned market depth grid of FIG. 3. InFIG. 6, a designated item of interest for market depth is set to aninside market, and the inside markets are re-centered around a yieldcurve 602 defining a theoretical relationship between the tradeableobjects. FIG. 6 illustrates a plurality of markets depths centeredaround the yield curve, however, as the time goes by, the market depthcan move, so that the inside market will not be perfectly centered onthe yield curve. For example, when an inside market corresponding to atradeable object is at a price higher than that suggested by a yieldcurve, a trader may treat that as an indicator of a good time to sell,since the underlying assumption would be that the inside market wouldcome back to the price of the yield curve. Similarly, when the insidemarket price is lower than the price associated with the yield curve,the trader may treat that situation as a good time to buy.

The above description of the example embodiments, alternativeembodiments, and specific examples, are given by way of illustration andshould not be viewed as limiting. Further, many changes andmodifications within the scope of the present embodiments may be madewithout departing from the spirit thereof, and the present inventionincludes such changes and modifications.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that methodsinvolved in the system and method for trading multiple tradeable objectsin an electronic trading environment may be embodied in a computerprogram product that includes one or more computer readable media. Forexample, a computer readable medium can include a readable memorydevice, such as a hard drive device, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a computerdiskette, having computer readable program code segments stored thereon.The computer readable medium can also include a communications ortransmission medium, such as, a bus or a communication link, eitheroptical, wired or wireless having program code segments carried thereonas digital or analog data signals.

The claims should not be read as limited to the described order orelements unless stated to that effect. Therefore, all embodiments thatcome within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalentsthereto are claimed as the invention.

1. A method for displaying market information of a tradeable objectcomprising: displaying a first screen region of a graphical userinterface, the first screen region comprising a first plurality oflocations, each location corresponding to a value along a first valueaxis, wherein the first screen region is associated with a portion ofthe first value axis; dynamically displaying an indicator relating to aninside market of a first tradeable object in one of the first pluralityof locations in the first screen region, the indicator in the firstscreen region being displayed in relation to the portion of the firstvalue axis; displaying a second screen region of the graphical userinterface, the second screen region comprising a second plurality oflocations, each location corresponding to a value along a second valueaxis, wherein the second screen region is associated with a portion ofthe second value axis, and wherein the second screen region is displayedin relation to the first screen region; dynamically displaying anindicator relating to an inside market of a second tradeable object inone of the second plurality of locations in the second screen region,the indicator in the second screen region being displayed in relation tothe portion of the second value axis; receiving a repositioning commandbased on an algorithm; and in response to the repositioning command,repositioning the first value axis such that the indicator relating tothe inside market of the first tradeable object is displayed at a newlocation based on the algorithm in the first screen region andrepositioning the second value axis such that the indicator relating tothe inside market of the second tradeable object is displayed at a newlocation based on the algorithm in the second screen region.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the indicator relating to the inside marketof the first tradeable object is associated with a best bid or a bestask of the first tradeable object, and wherein the indicator relating tothe inside market of the second tradeable object is associated with abest bid or a best ask of the second tradeable object.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the indicator relating to the inside market of thefirst tradeable object is associated with a last traded price of thefirst tradeable object, and the indicator relating to the inside marketof the second tradeable object is associated with a last traded price ofthe second tradeable object.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstvalue axis comprises a first price-based value axis, and wherein asecond price-based value axis comprises a second price-based value axis.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first value axis and the secondvalue are static value axes.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the newlocation is based on a curve generated using the algorithm.
 7. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the curve comprises a yield curve.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the new location is approximately in thecenter of the first screen region and the second screen region.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: selecting with a user inputdevice a location of the first plurality of locations in the firstscreen region to initiate placement of a trade order to buy or sell thefirst tradeable object; and displaying a first working order indicatorin the selected location of the first screen region.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, further comprising: moving the first working order indicatorfrom the location in the first screen region to a location in the secondscreen region, wherein movement of the first working order indicator tothe second screen region initiates placement of a trade order to buy orsell the second tradeable object, and wherein an order quantity of thetrade order associated with the second tradeable object is determinedbased on an algorithm; and displaying a working order indicator at thelocation in the second screen region.
 11. The method of claim 10,further comprising: selecting with a user input device a location of thesecond plurality of locations in the second screen region to initiateplacement of a trade order to buy or sell the second tradeable object;and displaying a second working order indicator in the selected locationof the second screen region.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: linking the first order indicator with the second orderindicator to create a linked order; and initiating movement of thelinked order to a new location using at least the first order indicatorand the second order indicator, wherein the movement of the linked ordercauses a change in at least one order parameter.
 13. The method of claim12, wherein the lined order can be moved to a different screen regionassociated with at least one tradeable object different than the firsttradeable object or the second tradable object.
 14. The method of claim1, further comprising: selecting with a user input device a location ofthe first plurality of locations in the first screen region to initiateplacement of a first order to buy or sell the first tradeable object andthe second tradeable object.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein thegraphical user interface comprises one or more windows.
 16. A computerreadable medium containing program instructions for causing amicroprocessor to execute a method for displaying market information ofa tradeable object, comprising: displaying a first screen region of agraphical user interface, the first screen region comprising a firstplurality of locations, each location corresponding to a value along afirst value axis, wherein the first screen region is associated with aportion of the first value axis; dynamically displaying an indicatorrelating to an inside market of a first tradeable object in one of thefirst plurality of locations in the first screen region, the indicatorin the first screen region being displayed in relation to the portion ofthe first value axis; displaying a second screen region of the graphicaluser interface, the second screen region comprising a second pluralityof locations, each location corresponding to a value along a secondvalue axis, wherein the second screen region is associated with aportion of the second value axis, and wherein the second screen regionis displayed in relation to the first screen region; dynamicallydisplaying an indicator relating to an inside market of a secondtradeable object in one of the second plurality of locations in thesecond screen region, the indicator in the second screen region beingdisplayed in relation to the portion of the second value axis; receivinga repositioning command based on an algorithm; and in response to therepositioning command, repositioning the first value axis such that theindicator relating to the inside market of the first tradeable object isdisplayed at a new location based on the algorithm in the first screenregion and repositioning the second value axis such that the indicatorrelating to the inside market of the second tradeable object isdisplayed at a new location based on the algorithm in the second screenregion.
 17. A display apparatus, comprising: a graphical user interfaceon a computer comprising two or more screen regions displayed inrelation to each other; a first screen region comprising a firstplurality of locations, wherein each location of the first plurality oflocations corresponds to a value along a first value axis, wherein thefirst screen region is associated with a portion of the first valueaxis, a first indicator displayed in one of the first plurality oflocations in the first screen region in relation to the portion of thefirst value axis, the first indicator associated with an inside marketof a first tradeable object; a second screen region comprising a secondplurality of locations, and wherein each location of the secondplurality of locations corresponds to a value on a second value axis,and wherein the second screen region is associated with a portion of thesecond value axis; a second indicator displayed in one of the secondplurality of locations in the second screen region in relation to theportion of the second value axis, the second indicator associated withan inside market of a second tradeable object; and in response to arepositioning command based on an algorithm, the graphical interfacecomprising a repositioned first value axis such that the first indicatoris displayed in a new first location based on the algorithm in the firstscreen region, and further comprising a repositioned second value axissuch that the second indicator is displayed in a new second locationbased on the algorithm in the second screen region.
 18. The displayapparatus of claim 17, wherein the indicator relating to the insidemarket of the first tradeable object is associated with a best bid or abest ask of the first tradeable object, and wherein the indicatorrelating to the inside market of the second tradeable object isassociated with a best bid or a best ask of the second tradeable object.19. The display apparatus of claim 17, wherein the indicator relating tothe inside market of the first tradeable object is associated with alast traded price of the first tradeable object, and the indicatorrelating to the inside market of the second tradeable object isassociated with a last traded price of the second tradeable object. 20.The display apparatus of claim 17, wherein the first value axiscomprises a first price-based value axis, and wherein the second valueaxis comprises a second price-based value axis.
 21. The displayapparatus of claim 20, wherein the first price-based value axis and thesecond price-based value axis comprise static value axes.
 22. Thedisplay apparatus of claim 17, wherein the new location is based on acurve generated using the algorithm.
 23. The display apparatus of claim17, further comprising: a user input device for selecting a location ofthe first plurality of locations in the first screen region to initiateplacement of a trade order to buy or sell the first tradeable object;and a first working order indicator displayed in the selected locationof the first screen region.
 24. The display apparatus of claim 23,further comprising: a second working order indicator displayed at alocation in the second screen region upon detecting a movement of thefirst working order indicator from the selected location in the firstscreen region to the location in the second screen region, the secondworking order indicator associated with a trade order to buy or sell thesecond tradeable object, wherein an order quantity of the trade orderassociated with the second working order indicator is determined basedon an algorithm.
 25. The display apparatus of claim 23, furthercomprising: a second working order indicator in a location in the secondscreen region, the second working order indicator corresponding to atrade order to buy or sell the second tradeable object; and a linkedworking order indicator corresponding to a linked order comprising thetrade order corresponding to the first tradeable object and the tradeorder corresponding to the second tradeable object, wherein the linkedworking order indicator can be moved to a new location, and wherein themovement of the linked order indicator causes a change in at least oneorder parameter.